Preason Game 3 Recap: Redskins @ Jets

LaDainian Tomlinson: There may not have been too much “good” to get excited about but this definitely tops the list. More impressive than his 11 carry 86-yard effort was his explosive lateral quickness. In his prime, lateral quickness was Tomlinson’s best attribute and was something that was sorely lacking over the past two years in San Diego. Seeing that explosiveness must give the Jets hope that the “old” man still has something left in the tank.

Vernon Gholston: It is still only preseason but Gholston saw some time with the ones and for the 1st time in his career did not seem out of place. He was consistently shedding blocks and put a solid on Rex Grossman. I am becoming cautiously optimistic that he may be a productive player in 2010.
The Snap Count: Too many times last year it seemed that the opposing defense would get a great jump off the ball. This year Brian Schottenheimer installed hard, quick, and silent counts. Thus far, it seems to be working. But we will see how it translates on the road in a loud environment.

THE BAD

Penalties: There were simply too many of them. The most egregious was Bart Scott’s roughing the passer penalty that led to the Redskins 1st Field Goal. I know that sometimes roughing the passer is subjective but in this case Scott has to know better. If you hit the quarterback in the head they will flag you every time.

Calvin Pace gets hurt: It looks like the Jets will be without Pace for the 1st four weeks of the season. This is nothing new as Pace missed the 1st 4 games of 2009 due to a league suspension. Pace will obviously be missed though as he led the Jets with 8 sacks in 2009. The good news is that the Jason Taylor signing is looking pretty good right about now. Also, don’t be surprised if the Jets give Rex’s old pal Adalius Thomas a call.

Same Old Jets: No I don’t mean that in the classic sense. I mean that this game looked just like half of the games looked in 2009. The Jets defense dominates the game but the offense is not able to due anything positive and actually negatively impacts the game through turnovers. Dominant defense + turnover prone offense is a recipe for an 8-8 season. You know, unless the last two teams on their schedule play their backups.

Joe Mcknight: As a punt returner he looks like he may provide immediate dividends on the Jets investment. But it also looked as though as was making strides as a running back and maybe he still as. But with the Jets trying to run out the clock late in the 4th quarter Mcknight fumbled. And anytime your fumble causes your team to lose the game there is a good chance you will end up in the “bad” category.

Offensive Line Communication: Too many unaccounted for rushers. And I don’t even mean blitzers. There were numerous times that defensive linemen found themselves unblocked. Should be interesting to see how Bill Callahan reacts on Hard Knocks this week.

THE UGLY

The Jets Passing game: It wasn’t one pass so much that was the problem although you can point to the red zone interception by Deangelo Hall. There just seems to be no rhythm to the passing game. Sanchez seems to still be looking for open receivers as opposed to anticipating them. For all the talk about how much better the offense has looked in practice, we have yet to see it in a game. Now, maybe before the regular season someone will flip a switch but for now I am concerned.

End of Half Officiating: I know, I know, “Its preseason for the officials too.” But it was ugly. Ron Winter is great referee and has been doing this for a long time, but his crew had a rough night. I can’t even decide what was worse, calling offsetting pass interference penalties when it was CLEAR that nothing should have been called. Or clearly seeing Brodney Pool Recover a fumble only to have in awarded to the Redskins (This play should have been reviewed but more on that in a second).

Ian Eagle/Greg Buttle: This pairing was uncomfortable at best and brutal at worst. If an announcer is unsure of a rule, that is fine. There are a lot of rules and you may not know each esoteric one. But if you don’t know, SAY SO. At the end of the half Ian Eagle explained that the referees could not review a fumble recovery. Well that is kind of true. But what the officials can review is down by contact. All that has to happen is for there to be clear evidence of a recovery and possession and that the player is down by contact so any subsequent change of possession happened after the runner was down. The play should have been reviewed and the Jets should have been awarded the ball.

Final thoughts: This was not the way to play in what is supposed to be the more important preseason game. Rex says he will stick to the script so it is unlikely we will see much of the starters if at all. And although preseason doesn’t matter, it is somewhat disappointing to go 0-2 at home in front of fans who are paying full price.